Like A Paper Butterfly
by FandomsAreLoveFandomsAreLife
Summary: Max has a tiny crush on the wavy-haired boy who's smart and funny. Warren has a tiny crush on the azure-eyed girl who's nice and laughs at his jokes. One Valentine's Day, these feelings are brought into the light. [Thirteen Year Old AU] [GrahamField] [Oneshot]


**Okay, so before this story starts, I should give you some background. They are 12/13/14 years old, which is First Year here in Ireland, and I have no idea what it is in America. Max doesn't move, and Warren isn't 2 years younger, because the age gap was a lot bigger back then so that would just complicate things and UGH.**

* * *

 _ **8.50 a.m.**_

Jack elbowed his, slightly shorter, brown-haired friend hard in the ribs. "Look who it is..." He sang, giving the boy a sly smirk.

Warren turned his hazel eyes towards who Jack was looking at, and turned the lightest, dustiest pink as he noticed his crush leaning on her locker, chatting to her best friend.

"Shut the fuck up!" Warren hissed, turning his back to her to stop himself from staring. "I told you, I _don't_ like her!" Jack raised his ginger eyebrows, crossing his arms and looking his friend directly in the eye to show that Warren wasn't fooling anyone.

"I don't even know why you like her, though. Why not someone like Jessie Parker, she's at least-" Fortunately for Warren, the five-minute bell rang, so they had to speed walk to their lockers, Warren purposely getting separated from Jack in the crowd.

* * *

 _ **9.05 a.m.**_

Once they were in English, Jack threw himself down in the seat next to Warren as if that speed-walking and grabbing books out of his locker had really tired him out. His blue eyes suddenly brightened, and Warren became very wary as he recognized the look of an idea on Jack's face. He scribbled something on a torn slip of paper, and Warren watched his chewed Biro bobbing to and fro, slightly curious but also slightly afraid. At last, Jack shoved the crumpled piece of paper into Warren's fist.

Warren peered at the scrawled writing in blue ink, smudged due to the sweat on his palms. _Why don't you give her a card?_

He remembered that, for a dollar, you could buy someone a card and a small bar of chocolate to go with it. He shook his head frantically, wavy locks brushing across his face.

"Warren, you look like you're having a seizure back there. Are you okay?" Warren froze, as the teacher and all the students in the class looked at him curiously. He could feel himself turning a painful crimson.

"N-no, Miss. I-I thought there was a fly on my face." It was a stupid excuse, and the teacher clearly didn't believe it.

"Is that a note in your hand?" She raised her eyebrows, brushing dyed blonde strands of hair out of her eyes. "Bring it up here, please." Everyone knew the policy. Warren was sure that his social life was about to end.

As he walked the never-ending walk up to the top of the classroom, he looked around and remembered that his crush was in this class. Even fucking worse.

"What's this?" The teacher squinted at the messy handwriting, trying to decipher the squiggle of words that Jack had inked across the page. " _Why don't you give her a card?_ " She looked up, and Warren could see amusement in her brown eyes, which were framed with mascara, but also purple bags that even concealer couldn't totally hide. "Well, this is interesting, Warren, but I'm afraid we're meant to be writing about the short film that we are studying."

Everyone was laughing at him. If Warren was one of the funny, popular kids, he could have just made a witty comment and laughed with them. But all he could do is do his best not to hang his head and blush bright bubblegum.

That was a lie. One person wasn't laughing. Max Caulfield stared at him seriously with her big, blue eyes.

* * *

 _ **9.45 a.m.**_

"It is _totally_ you!"

Max tried to brush off her friend, saying she didn't care, but she felt an undeniable thrill at the idea of Warren liking her.

"Girl, do you think I'm stupid? I see how you laugh at all his dumb jokes!" Chloe, grinned at Max eagerly, but the smugness in her eyes told Max that if she admitted it out loud, she'd never hear the end of it.

Max paused to try and sort out her thoughts. Did she like Warren? He had nice hair, and pretty eyes, and he was very funny. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath to brace herself. "Okay, maybe a tiny bit. But do you really think that, out of _all_ the girls in the school, it's me?" Chloe clapped her pale hands in excitement, letting out a very uncharacteristic squeal.

"I don't _think_ anything. I _know_." Max rolled her azure eyes, so Chloe shoved her... into someone.

"Oh, sorry!" She squeaked, _very_ nearly yelping when she saw who she had nearly knocked over.

Warren Graham stumbled, blushing the same shade as Max. He stuttered an apology, even though it was _totally_ her fault. His two friends caught each other's eye and snickered together. Max noticed this.

After she apologized properly and Warren muttered that it was okay, she left feeling just a little bit lighter.

* * *

 _ **1.20 p.m.**_

Lunchtime that very same day, Max opened her dented, blue locker to see something small and magenta flutter to the ground like a paper butterfly. She felt an involuntary smile reach from one side of her face to the other. With fingers trembling with excitement, she picked up the note.

 _Max,_

 _I don't really know what you're supposed to put here? Well, I guess I should let you know that you are really cool and pretty. And you're the nicest and smartest person I know. I would ask you to be my Valentine, but hopefully you won't know who this is from._

Max slipped the note with the little chocolate bar into her pocket. She leaned against her locker and closed her eyes, long lashes dusting freckled cheeks. She didn't need a signature to recognize the curly handwriting and witty commentary. It was the one name that had been perched at the front of her mind all day.

* * *

 _ **3.55 p.m.**_

As the school bell rang to let everyone know that school was no longer in progress, Warren dragged his scuffed black shoes across the cold floor. He opened his locker for the final time that day, and noticed a tiny pink letter, nestled in the shadowy corner of his locker, just out of reach pf the bright fluorescent lights. He picked it up, and the chaos seemed to dull around him.

 _Warren,_

 _I got your note. That was so nice of you! But truly, you are the smartest person in the school. And the funniest. Most girls in my class might think that Peter and his friends are more attractive, but you're super cute. Thank you so much for the note!_

 _OXMAXO_

As Warren left the school that day, despite the cold and rain, he felt sunny.

* * *

 **This is so fucking cliche. And they act way too mature for 13 year olds. But I'm so tired I don't even care anymore. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!**

 **~FALFAL**


End file.
